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Opinion

Attack on Saudi oil stations major provocation

14 May 2019

Oil tanks at a plant in Haradh, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. AFP

The drone attacks on two pump stations on Saudi Aramco’s East-West pipeline, which transports Saudi oil from the Eastern Province to the port of Yanbu, are cowardly, dangerous and deliberate acts of terrorism that deserve a strong international response.

As Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih pointed out, the latest acts of terrorism and sabotage in the Arabian Gulf not only target the Kingdom but also the security of oil supplies to the world and the global economy.

These attacks prove again that it is important to face terrorist entities, including the Houthi militias in Yemen that are backed by Iran.

Saudi Aramco took the right precautionary measures by temporarily stopping operation of the pipeline, while evaluating the situation and working on restoring the operations of the affected pump station and the pipeline.

A television station run by Yemen’s Houthi group claimed on Tuesday the Iran-aligned movement had launched the drone attacks on Saudi installations.

Several inhuman acts by the Houthi militias have left the Yemeni people in huge distress. Last week, the Iran-aligned Houthis group renewed their shelling against the Red Sea Mills in the port city of Hodeidah, causing damages to the grain facility.

Any damage to humanitarian food stocks, whether deliberately targeted or as collateral damage, is unacceptable when millions in Yemen continue to suffer from crippling shortages of food, the World Food Programme’s senior spokesman Herve Verhoosel had warned.

The perpetrators of reprehensible actions such as attack on Saudi oil facilities should realise that the world is taking note and they will be forced to pay a heavy price for their criminal deeds.

The Egyptian foreign ministry has stated that Egypt is in solidarity with the government and the people of Saudi Arabia in confronting all attempts to undermine its security and stability, stressing their brotherly ties, established relations and coordination at the highest level in order to face common challenges and address terrorism.

The Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, has been quoted as saying that the violation of the security of any Arab country is detrimental to Arab national security, stressing full solidarity with Saudi Arabia in the face of these terrorist threats aimed at provoking unrest in the region.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia share historically special bonds of love, brotherhood and unity. The relationship is a major stabilising force in dealing with the challenges and risks threatening Arab and Gulf security.

The neighbours share a common vision on many crucial issues, which include taking firm measures to counter extremism and promoting effective dialogue between cultures and civilisations.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, MOFAIC, has rightly denounced the cowardly act of terrorism and sabotage aimed at undermining the safety of the world’s global energy supplies and reaffirmed the UAE’s outright support for the Kingdom for all the measures taken to protect the security of its facilities and natural resources.

The targeting of the two pumping stations proves once again, as the ministry stated, the importance of addressing terrorist organisations that carry out such subversive acts, including the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen.

The international community needs to act swiftly and unitedly in sending a strong message in order to avert the repeat of such actions. It should play its role in restoring legitimacy in Yemen and take all the necessary steps to deal with terrorist acts that destabilise the region.